bY  Sachin Murdeshwar

Mumbai : Seasoned rally driver Sanjay Takale will make his World Rally Championship-3 debut next week, at the Neste Rally Finland after he got the biggest breakthrough of his career with the Latvia-based Baltic Motorsports Promotion providing him with the all-important WRC registered car.

Baltic Motorsport confirmed Pune-based Takale as their driver for the Finland leg of the World Rally Championship in the WRC3 category.

Takale will drive a Ford Fiesta R2 in Rally Finland, which takes place on July 26-29 and is considered the fastest on the WRC calendar. The championship course would be 500 km and the drivers will have to brave 70-degree temperature for 8 to 9 hrs.

Takale will team up with British co-driver Darren Garrod and his car will be maintained by Latvia-based Baltic Motorsport Promotion.

Takale, who had announced his intentions to foray into one of the three WRC categories earlier this year has taken part in several European rallies in the run-up to his debut.

“It’s a great joy and I have been working hard for last 8 years in rallying and planning to reach WRC one day,” Takale said.

“Finland had been my favourite rally and I am lucky to get the same rally as a debut. I think this is the most technical high-speed rally in WRC, having participated in more than 100 rallies with 40+ podium finishes I would like to put my experience to good use in Finland” he further added

WRC3 is a support series of the World Rally Championship with R2 front-wheel-drive cars.

In the lead up to the Finland Rally, Takale competed in Rally Tallinn in Estonia, which is a candidate venue for the WRC next year, and Rally Latvia with decent finishes.

Takale will be joined in Rally Finland by countryman and MRF driver Gaurav Gill, who will be competing in the WRC2 class in an R5-spec Ford Fiesta.

Rally Calendar:

Rallye Monte-Carlo	25.01. – 28.01.2018
Rally Sweden	15.02. – 18.02.2018
Rally Guanajuato México	09.03. – 11.03.2018
Corsica Linea – Tour de Corse	06.04. – 08.04.2018
YPF Rally Argentina	26.04. – 29.04.2018
Vodafone Rally de Portugal	17.05. – 20.05.2018
Rally Italia Sardegna	07.06. – 10.06.2018
Neste Rally Finland	26.07. – 29.07.2018
ADAC Rallye Deutschland	16.08. – 19.08.2018
Rally Turkey	13.09. – 16.09.2018
Dayinsure Wales Rally GB	04.10. – 07.10.2018
RallyRACC Catalunya – Rally de España	25.10. – 28.10.2018
Kennards Hire Rally Australia	15.11. – 18.11.2018

 ALLY FINLAND

INFO

NESTE RALLY FINLAND
START DATE:	26.07.2018
END DATE:	29.07.2018
TIMEZONE:	UTC 3
CATEGORY:	WRC3 WRC2 WRC JWRC
STAGES:	23 (317,26 KM)
DISTANCE:	1427,49 KM
SERVICEPARK:	JYVÄSKYLÄ
WEBSITE:	http://www.nesterallyfinland.fi

 

Stages

• Smooth and blisteringly fast gravel roads, buried among forests and lakes, are characterised by massive stomach-churning jumps.
• Rally starts on Thursday night with exciting mixed-surface Harju street stage in front of big crowds in central Jyväskylä.
• Drivers head west on Friday to sample many new roads in tests including Moksi, Urria, Ässämäki and Äänekoski – all of which are driven twice.
• Saturday is the ‘meat’ of the event, with almost 143km of relentless action spanning nearly 16 hours on roads south-west of the rally base, near Jämsa. The new Kakaristo test features roads from the legendary Ouninpohja.
• Sunday’s finale heads east for two runs at two classic tests – Laukaa and the big jumps of Ruuhimäki.

Iconic Stage

• In the absence of the full-length Ouninpohja, the rally will go for Sunday’s live TV Power Stage in Ruuhimäki. Driven as the shakedown stage in recent years, it is back in the rally for 2018 and organisers have added some new sections to the classic parts.

Challenge

• A mix of hard, wide roads with narrower more technical sections.
• Flat out from start to finish. It is affectionately known as the Finnish Grand Prix and 11 of the 12 fastest WRC rallies have been here.
• Pace notes must be perfect. Blind crests often hide corners and it’s vital to position the car correctly before take-off to ensure maximum speed through the bend.
• Speeds are so high that time differences are small and there is little opportunity to regain vital seconds after a mistake.
• One of the hardest rallies for co-drivers as high speeds demand a constant, pinpoint accurate delivery of pace notes.
• Mastering the jumps. If the speed is too high, the car’s aerodynamics will force the back down and the front will rise. The tactic is to brake before take-off and accelerate full throttle over the jump.  

Car Setup

• Gravel suspension.
• Packed gravel roads mean soft compound tyres are the usual choice, but hard compound rubber is also available.
• Super-smooth stages mean cars can be prepared in the knowledge that mechanical issues are rare.

Event History

• Dates back to 1951 when it was launched as a means of deciding the Finnish entries for Rallye Monte-Carlo.
• It took on the name 1000 Lakes Rally and was included in the calendar for the WRC in its first year in 1973.
• It has been dominated by Finnish drivers who have won 55 of the 67 editions. Top of the roll of honour are Hannu Mikkola and Marcus Grönholm with seven wins.
• The 2016 edition was the fastest rally in WRC history. Kris Meeke won at an average speed of 126.62kph.

What’s new for 2018

• Almost 40 per cent of the roads have not been driven in the rally previously and nearly 65 per cent is new compared with 12 months ago.
• Of the 23 stages, Saturday’s double run through Pihlajakoski is the only test unchanged from last year.
• New stages include Ässämäki while Äänekoski and Laukaa will be used in the opposite direction to 2017.

Top Highlights

• Visit Kakaristo hairpin on Saturday to enjoy great action and a brilliant atmosphere. For many years part of the legendary Ouninpohja, the junction is the focal point of the new Kakaristo test. Craig Breen knows the sweeping bend leading into this junction only too well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2biL_8EK2os 
• Finland is all about jumps and they don’t come much bigger than Urria.
• Ruuhimäki is the place to go on Sunday. It is famous for its sequence of big wide road jumps near the end, but this year’s test closes with what org